Recently, a delegation of principals from Chinese independent high schools in Sabah, Malaysia, visited Zhejiang Conservatory of Music and its Affiliated Music School to conduct cultural and educational exchange activities, building a bridge for art education cooperation between the two sides and jointly promoting mutual learning and shared advancement in education and culture between China and Malaysia. Vice President Dong Dejun, Director of the International Office Wei Li, Party Branch Secretary of the Affiliated School of Music Liu Min, Vice Principals Zhou Zhan and Wu Xiao, among others, attended the event.

During the meeting, Vice President Dong Dejun extended a warm welcome to the delegation of principals from Sabah Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia. He briefly introduced the school’s educational profile and international exchange activities, expressing his hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to leverage professional strengths in establishing a cooperative platform and jointly advance art education exchanges between China and Malaysia as well as the inheritance of Chinese culture.

Liu Min, Secretary of the Party General Branch of the Affiliated School of Music, outlined the development history and achievements of the school. He stated that the school adheres to a developmental philosophy of “facing the world and pursuing open education,” and looks forward to strengthening exchanges and mutual visits with Sabah Chinese Independent High Schools. Both sides held in-depth discussions on topics including cooperation in art education, mutual learning and exchange in cultural fields, and student-teacher exchange programs and research visits, thus laying the groundwork for establishing long-term cooperative mechanisms in the future.

Zhang Jiazhou, representative of the delegation of principals from Sabah Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia, expressed gratitude for Zhejiang Conservatory of Music’s warm reception and thoughtful arrangements, and highly commended the conservatory’s educational achievements and standards in art education. He introduced the distinctive features and developmental needs of Sabah Chinese Independent High Schools, and expressed the hope that, moving forward, Sabah schools and Zhejiang Conservatory of Music could collaborate in diverse forms and at multiple levels, enabling students from both countries to broaden their horizons and grow together through cultural and artistic exchanges.

During the visit, the delegation toured campus venues and facilities, including the concert hall, grand theater, and music museum. Accompanied by leaders of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music Affiliated School of Music, they jointly watched solo performances on the guzheng and piano by students from the affiliated school. The performers’ outstanding skills earned high praise from all guests present, showcasing the school’s solid professional teaching outcomes and allowing visitors to experience the distinctive educational features and aesthetic education philosophy of Zhejiang Conservatory of Music Affiliated  School of Music.

Introduction to Chinese Independent High Schools in Sabah, Malaysia.

Sabah’s nine Chinese Independent High Schools (established between 1962 and 1969) are distributed across eight districts and counties, embodying the educational ideals of earlier generations of the Chinese community: a trilingual curriculum in Chinese, Malay, and English as its foundation—emphasizing mother-tongue instruction and the inheritance of Chinese culture while also stressing mastery of scientific and technological knowledge and integrating both Eastern and Western approaches, all aimed at cultivating new-generation students equipped with world-class competencies. After more than four decades of dedicated effort and under the collective leadership of successive boards of directors, these schools have consistently extended Chinese primary education, enabling ethnic Chinese students across Sabah to complete a full 12-year Chinese-medium education from primary through secondary school, thus fulfilling their mission of “taking root locally while embracing the world.”